An eastern Wisconsin congressman’s bill would make taxpayer-funded annual funding more transparent and subject to greater scrutiny.
Congressman Glenn Grothman of Glenbeulah calls it the Appropriations Transparency Act.
Currently, all bills reported out of committee receive a formal Congressional Budget Office cost estimate that a bill’s effect will have on the federal budget.
However, bills reported out of the Appropriations Committee are exempt from receiving a formal estimate and are not made to the public but only to certain congressional members.
The act will amend the Congressional Budget Act by removing the exemption. Several coalitions, including Americans for Prosperity, Citizens Against Government Waste, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, support the bill along with several Republicans from several other states.
Grothman tells Seehafer News, “As a member of Congress, I believe it’s imperative to enhance transparency for the public regarding the utilization of taxpayer funds in the realm of appropriations, which stands as one of the most pivotal aspects of fiscal policy.”
He continued, saying, “It’s important for Congress and taxpayers to get complete and easily digestible information about what’s included in appropriations bills before they are enacted because Congress has gotten into a bad habit of relying on budget gimmicks from changes to mandatory programs and inappropriate emergency designations, to evade agreed upon spending.”
